scribbles 'n things (traditional & digital)

SKIP to the last page for new work!
Of course, if you want to see my travels from reasonable to approaching allright, feel free to follow my travels.

Update: Important books that help you improve to draw and paint

BOOKS:
Burne Hogarth: figure drawing. Some hate it, others love it. But regardless, a wealth of information to help draw human figures from the head.
James Gurney: Colour & Light. Very good, easy to understand book on painting. With limited palettes, gamut mapping & much more.
Kevin D. Macpherson: Fill your Oil paintings with color and light. Great book to learn to break down paintings in manageable steps. Step 1: start with major shapes, step 2: add details

In these pages you will find my sketches and paintings.
I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, although I've had a few quiet years.
Recently, about a year ago, I started getting more serious about improving my drawing abilities.
However, since I like all kinds of things and considering I'm quite chaotic, I find it hard to discipline myself into that.

Like everyone here, I wish to improve my drawing skills > all of them.
So, I will try to turn up production levels a notch or two, and I hope some of you will find the time to comment on my stuff.

Rip it apart, be constructive, be helpful, show me my errors and I will take them to heart, cry in a corner and then improve with your suggestions in mind!
Then again, I'm quite stubborn, so I might take a while to implement your suggestions.

Update: 07th of May 2011
Right, 2010 was a good year for drawing, but I did not produce enough.
Two pages in a sketchbook It's a start, but that's all.
So, let's see if I can make 2011 a better year. Draw! Paint! Create!

These cupids were inked with a dip pen.
Yeah I like comics/cartoons too, and I've been heavily influenced by
reading Disney's Donald Duck comics as a kid.

These rats were all done from photo reference (apart from the skull/see through rat).
I was trying to get the shape and form under control so I could then use it to draw a rat from the heart.
I then drew this for the cover of a scientific study to the effects of XTC (or MDMA) on the brain, carried out by my ex-girlfriend.
I think it turned out nice, apart from the letters.

Some scribbles, including an explanation for the seemingly large alien eyes.
It's a fraud! It's like 9/11 all over again. Times a 1000.

More stuff

Hey y'all, I've finally got a scanner up and running, and I've found some more recent sketching from last year. I'm a fervent Dungeons and Dragons player, and for the game I like to make drawings of what the players are about to encounter. I'll put on some environments as well. For now, these are sketches of creatures, that may serve as inspiration for the game (a hydra, an ogre and some guy for scale, a couple of dwarven liches, hence the stocky build).

Hydra. This is one that I'd like to get finished some time.

Ogre

The first of these liches has a really awkward swordarm, I can't really figure out what is wrong, but it's not right.
After playing with hue/saturation a little, it came out like a page from an ancient tome. . . I like it.
Oh and btw I suck at digital art - need to get started sometime; first thing I prob need a wacam pad or something.

This picture was done shortly after seeing one of the Lord of the Rings movies; I just had these characters in my head. The guy on the left therefore looks kindof like this lead-orc guy I think. I should do more with shadows to make the drawings more real and interesting; for now it's mostly just outlines. That's the short term goal for now.

more sketches

Just dug up some stuff from my D&D campaign; and since they're sketches, why not put them up here . Comments/crits are welcome.

Deep dragon.
I drew this after the deep dragon from some monster's manual.
I really like what Todd Lockwood, the concept artists for Dungeons&Dragons 3rd ed., has made of the dragons. They're kind of feline reptiles. Which in my mind makes them awesome.

Monastery of the Yellow Rose
An attempt at a mountain/landscape with a massive sort of castle built on the slopes. Personally, I kinda like it.
Some devil
Also drawn after a picture from the D&D monster's manual.
I kinda like the pose of the creature; as it stares back at the viewer.
I don't really like the pose of the human though - kinda awkward.
I really need to work on my anatomy skills.

Back to the drawing board. Gotta get this sketchbook working.
First, some wolf/man about to get medieval on someone's ass;
second, a guy that has just been forced to his knees but is not
willing to quit. At all. Plan to ink these further.
Any crits/comments are welcome; I'm still working on some human form
issues and I'm not too comfortable with inking yet. As in; strong inking.
With deep shadows and stuff. Any thoughts?
Oh and besides that I think they kick ass!

A painting of an ant. After a photograph in a book.
I made this thing in highschool and I'm quite satisfied with the ant.
Not so much with the branch though - too much lines.
And a butterfly i just started. Process shot. Hope to finish it this weekend.
Trying to get paint under control.

"...it had the serene look in it's eyes of a creature that realizes it's a tube on legs..." ~ Terry Pratchett

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." ~Pablo Picasso

You've definetly got talent here, really liking the drawings of the gerbil / hamster and also the dragon drawings are good to. Lots of good detail too.

Obviously more work on the anatomy would help but that's a common thing said on here. If anything more specific I'd say work on the perspective of your heads, this seems to be your biggest downfall. This is something I just found in Google images but hopefully it should help. Dunno if you've got books on anatomy and perspective but look around on here and there should be loads. Keep up the good work though.

Thank you Porg, for taking the time to post a reply. Glad you like my stuff.
And thanks for some specific critique.
You are right, my weakness is human faces; they all tend to be similar to one another, and I'm not very comfortable with turning all the forms in space; like jaw/cheekbones, noses. I'll work on that. Thanks for the link btw; good start.

Oh and an update of the butterfly; it's not going very fast but hey.

"...it had the serene look in it's eyes of a creature that realizes it's a tube on legs..." ~ Terry Pratchett

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." ~Pablo Picasso

New stuff.. painting with acrylics and oils lately, trying to get them under control. A couple of butterflies (from reference), and the Joker (from reference). Working on them on and off. Maybe I'll finish them, but then I first have to stop myself from starting new pics before finishing one.

I'm finally working to finish some pieces, instead of just moving on to the next before the previous drawing is halfway done. Two butterflies, that have been finished. That is, I'm not going to do anything about them anymore.

Both are from pictures, found on flickr.

gulf fritillary
some tropical butterfly

"...it had the serene look in it's eyes of a creature that realizes it's a tube on legs..." ~ Terry Pratchett

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." ~Pablo Picasso

bump!

Time for another dump, I'm way too lazy with updating this thing..
(slaps himself in the face)
Get a grip dude, come on then, draw! Update! You wanna make a living out of stuff like this one day, then you'd better pick up the pace a notch!

Annihilator of Nessus.. for COW 163
(which, obviously, I didn't finish in time..meh)

study of a tiger, in oils

..pull the other one!
another tiger, that I'm going to paint

"...it had the serene look in it's eyes of a creature that realizes it's a tube on legs..." ~ Terry Pratchett

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." ~Pablo Picasso

update!

more stuff!
first up: a creature from the deep, made for COW#153: "Bloody, buggery, curly-headed bloodsuckers of Portsmouth." This is my take on one of those.
I'm planning on participating more in these COW challenges, as they teach you a lot, and they force you to draw (and paint, in my case).

Next: a dinosaur! bird thing.
Made this @ work, scribbling away with a pen. Turned out nice, I think.

Next: Europan/Europaen creature, an intelligent life-form discovered on Europa, one of Jupiter's moons.
Created for the COW#164 challenge, "2010:The year we make contact"

And finally: update on the white tiger.. I don't know if anyone but me is interested in this actually,
but I've seen some process shots of several great artists on this site, and although I am by
no means great, maybe this is insightful for someone who's just starting out as an artist.

Last edited by Harmageddon; January 23rd, 2010 at 05:58 PM.

"...it had the serene look in it's eyes of a creature that realizes it's a tube on legs..." ~ Terry Pratchett

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." ~Pablo Picasso

bump!

So, to put that premise into action: scanned some more COW critters . .

COW 160: satyr slayer
I figured it would be some deformed satyr creature, a bloodline that had fallen to corruption and decay, slowly turning to the dark side. After millennia, their existence relies solely on their hatred for their kin, their ancient brethren, the satyrs. I probably should have made it much darker to fit the idea. Oh well.

COW 161: Merlin's familiar
Sort of a spell-casting crow/raven thingy. I figured it should be a creature that could hide amongst real life animals so it could be an excellent spy. Of course, it's highly developed intellect ensures that it can also assist in spell research and provides Merlin with someone to talk to during the solitary work that is a wizard's.

COW 165: Zombie dinosaur
Zombies! Dinosaurs! When put together they combine into in an insatiable herd of killing machines that, quite rightly because of their peanut sized brains, demand more BRAINS!! Quite happy with this one, really.

and playing around with brightness/contrast got it closer to the original...

Last edited by Harmageddon; February 13th, 2010 at 03:09 PM.

"...it had the serene look in it's eyes of a creature that realizes it's a tube on legs..." ~ Terry Pratchett

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." ~Pablo Picasso